When the Going Gets Tough...Make It Easier!

I just read an article on dailypress.com--On Parenting: Simpler spelling would shelter kids from reality--that convinces me that the American Civilization as we know it, is coming to a swift end. We have gone from a nation of pioneering innovators to a bunch of whiners who, when faced with adversity, will do anything to make things easier instead of striving to persevere. Gee, Johnny can't spell, so what do we do? Instead of teaching Johnny to spell, we we want to change the rules so that Johnny can spell at his present level. If his level drops, then we drop the level of the language rather than trying to raise Johnny’s reading level. No more goals; no more striving for greatness; just Johnny having problems comprehending two-syllable words.

Why has this occurred? We have made things much too easy and easy usually leads to shortcuts. Look at the book publishing industry. There are literally thousands of people who are publishing books using vanity publishers to put out books without the services of editors, typesetters, interior designers, or even proofreaders, and it shows. I have seen dozens of vanity published works that have more errors (spelling, grammar and, yes, structure) per page than my 3rd grade teacher would have found acceptable, which is probably due to them relying solely on their word processor's spell and grammar checker. Does anyone realize that spell checkers can make mistakes, especially if some misspelled words get into the user dictionary? And how many would-be authors know what the term "river" refers to when applied to a printed page?

People! It is time for authors to publish books that are as close to perfection (spelling, grammatically, and structurally) as possible. It is also time that the American people start reading again because that is where you learn the language and expand your vocabulary: by reading. Find a word you are unfamiliar with, then crack-open a dictionary and do a little research. Our society decays when our language decays. Please, don't let that happen to us.

Dolor

Tags: education, literacy, society

Launch!

I watched Discovery launch today and it it reminded me of events long past:

Watching Apollo I dying on the pad and not understanding why.

Watching Apollo XI triumphing on the Moon, and the pride of being an American.

Watching Challenger and Columbia dying and wondering if the cost was too high.

Looking back at all of the successes and failures of NASA and knowing that the sacrifices were not in vain because mankind has gained so much from both the successes and failures.

Most importantly, I watched Discovery launch today with my heart in my throat and a sense of pride I have not felt in a long while.

Good luck Discovery, and God's speed.

Tags: NASA, space shuttle, Discovery